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Country Contest 20
|conductor = |director = |host = , CCU |venue = , Semi-finals Final |winner = |windance = |vote = Each country awards two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to their 10 favorite countries. |entries = 60 (qualified) 83 (to date) |debut = |return = |withdraw = |disqualified = |null = |opening = |openingl = |interval = |intervall = |pre2 = |nex = }} The Country Contest 20 will be the twentieth edition of the contest, serving as a jubilee event. As in the tenth edition, the CCU announced that the contest would be welcome to any public broadcaster in the world as long as they are in the UN, or otherwise accepted by the CCU, as long as they are the first in the country to confirm its interest. Location Although it is presumed the event will take place in the Zagreb Arena, it is possible that it will be hosted in Stadion Maksimir with a temporary roof being built for the duration of the contest. On 25 October 2018, HRT announced that the semi-finals would be held in Arena Zagreb, with the Grand Finale taking place in a renovated (roof-built) Stadion Maksimir, the following week. HRT stated, "While 22,000 is a good amount of seats for the Contest, such a big and international contest like this edition would never fulfill its potential unless being held in a venue Maksimir, which can hold a bigger capacity." Presenters On 17 December 2018, HRT announced that Croatian actress and singer would be one of the hosts of the competition. However, it was not revealed how many there would be in total and who else would host. With having hosted the Croatia draw, it was reported that "he would join Severina to host the competition," however HRT denied this by saying that "the other presenters would be announced in due course." Format International competition The CCU stated that considering the contest is not what it was ten editions ago, the interest level would be "extremely high." As such, 3 semi-finals will no longer be enough. The CCU stated that the amount of participating countries "is expected to be as high as 100 from all over the world." As such, it is likely that continental finals will take place in order to qualify for the semi-finals of the competition. The CCU confirmed that the actual competition itself would be limited to 60 countries, up 2 from the 10th edition. As such, 94 countries would need to battle their spot into the competition, with the top 6 countries from the previous edition having free spots in the Grand Final. Countries which won bidding rounds to host continental finals were also given free spots to the semi-finals as a reward for their hosting. Additionally, the CCU stated that there would be no limit on participating countries, which may even require continental semi-finals if interested countries in 1 continent exceeds 26 participants (case in point, for European countries which will now have to fight their way to the competition). Kosovo On 6 September 2018, the CCU announced that they would soon vote to decide the fate of RTK's participation of Kosovo in the contest. The CCU additionally invited broadcasters such as BHRT and RTS for potential settlement or agreement. On 1 October 2018, the CCU announced that after its long and thorough process, that they had accepted RTK and Kosovo into the Union, and would therefore qualify for participation in all of its Original Contests. An unanimous vote reportedly landed in Kosovo's favor, but the exact result was never revealed. The CCU furthermore declined to comment on the Kosovar vote. Draw On 26 December 2018, HRT broadcast live the random draw to determine Croatia's position in the Running Order of the Grand Final. The 30-minute special one-off program, which was hosted by Croat-German actor , also featured a live performance from Severina and unveiled more details, including the revelation of the slogan Vjeruj san. The slogan, in English, would mean Trust the Dream or Believe the Dream. At the end of the programme, it became apparent that Croatia would perform in the twenty-seventh position in the Grand Final. The draw took place to prevent potential bias towards the choice of the Croatian running order position. Qualification to competition Six countries are pre-qualified to the Grand Final, for their top six performance in the previous edition, as in previous editions.aa Another 5 countries are pre-qualified to the semi-finals, for their hosting of their respective continents' qualification final to the competition.aaa The remaining 51 countries are expected to qualify via continental finals, as well as a wildcard round.aaaa Slot allocation The slots were allocated similarly as will be for , but with an automatic spot for continental hosts, as well as 1 extra slot for Oceania and 2 extra for the renamed wildcard round. However, this system was criticized due to Europe receiving 21 slots, 38% of the total continental slots, compared to FIFA's 35%. Nevertheless, the current FIFA system (to be used until 2022) consists of 42% European slots. As a result, the CCU announced that the Big 6 would count as European slots, reducing them to 10 and giving other continents further slots. A new slot allocation was furthermore introduced, with each continent (minus Oceania) receiving one extra slot, Europe losing 5, and two added to the wildcard. Europe therefore represents 24% of the competing slots, and 30% of the overall competition. The wildcard system was introduced on 24 October 2018, which reassured the allocation of four slots for its winners. The wildcard round host was confirmed to be Croatia, which the CCU appointed to "test their hosting skills ahead of the big event", which were already automatically qualified as part of the Big 6. To keep the round minimalistic, the three highest-placing non-qualifiers from each continent would qualify. The 15 participants would then vote, alongside other broadcasting nations. Four countries, regardless of their continent, will then progress. Table As of 25 October 2018, 19 countries have secured their debut in the contest. European selection A record number of participants from Europe took part, including the debut of England, Scotland and Wales. Bosnia–Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Liberland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Romania and Russia made their return to the contest. A total of 46 countries took part in the selection, with the top 6 from #19 and selection hosts Montenegro automatically qualified from this round. The semi-finals marked notably marked the first non-qualification streak from Luxembourg and Switzerland and the 5th consecutive non-qualification from Finland. The finals marked merrier and stronger streak-ends, and such. From the final, 11 countries directly progressed to the main competition, whilst three countries qualified for the international wildcard round. The entire Big 6 from #19 also voted here, alongside hosts Montenegro. Italy was most notably eliminated in the selection, before having participated in every edition and being the most successful country with 3 wins. However, Italy took a wrong turn starting with its worst (23rd) result in #18, followed by non-qualification in the next edition. As a result, Germany became the only country to participate in every edition of the contest. Additionally, Russia failed to qualify for its first time ever in its 12-edition history, having taken a 7-edition break to return this edition. Greece also broke its 7-edition qualification streak with its early elimination. The only debutant not qualifying, England, also broke its 5-edition qualification streak as UK. Previous edition hosts, Czech Republic, also broke their 4-edition streak with their elimination. Overall, 27 countries which competed in the previous edition were forced to withdraw. England unsuccessfully debuted and some countries unsuccessfully returned. Pan American selection 23 countries took part in this selection, with 13 of them directly progressing and 3 indirectly to the wildcard. 7 countries were eliminated from the competition, notably Venezuela, whom placed 14th in the tenth edition. Oceanic selection 5 countries participated in the selection, with 2 of them directly progressing to the competition. The other 3 qualified to the wildcard round. As a result, no countries in this round were eliminated. Following the selection, many argued that only one country should qualify from Oceania, considering the size. The CCU responded, stating "inclusivity is our number one priority, especially when it comes to edition's like this. New and Papua earned their spots in the competition." Asian selection 18 countries participated in the selection, with 9 of them directly progressing to the competition. The other 3 qualified to the wildcard round. Six countries were directly eliminated from the competition. African selection Twenty countries will participate in the selection, with half of them directly progressing to the competition. The other 3 will qualify to the wildcard round. Seven countries will be directly eliminated from the competition. Wildcard selection Semi-finals Semi-final 1 Semi-final 2 Semi-final 3 Final The 24 qualifiers from the three semi-finals, as well as the top 6 of the previous edition took part. This which marked the grand final of the edition to be the largest in the competition's 20 edition history. For the first time, non-participants were also invited to vote. As a result, all countries which competed in the main competition voted, alongside most competitors which did not pass their regional continental selection. The Rest of the World vote was effectively removed, for the edition, as was no longer necessary. Incidents Original slot allocation Preservation of the 'Big 6' Other countries Active CCU members * – On 16 October 2018, BBC Northern Ireland confirmed that the country would not attempt at debuting in the current edition, but would observe the contest. * – On 4 October 2018, VR reiterated that Vatican City would no longer be participating in the contest, and once again stated that "they never meant to be a regular participant in contest." Non-CCU members * : On 24 September 2018, TNH confirmed that Haiti would not comepete in the edition, following growing speculation. The country is the most populous in the Americas to not compete.